


Time is Relative

by sentella_warrior



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Langst, M/M, They Return Home, keith comforts lance, klance, klance fluff, klangst, time has passed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2019-02-04 22:20:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12780780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sentella_warrior/pseuds/sentella_warrior
Summary: Team Voltron returns home and it's not at all what Lance expected it to be. That's the sypnosis of the story basically.____________________________________________________________________________________________________(A/N) I'd love to know what you guys think of it so feel free to leave comments. Enjoy the angst. Peace out bros.





	Time is Relative

Imagine lance and the rest of the Voltron team finally arriving back to Earth. After the battles have been fought, Zarkon has been defeated, and the war has been won. After all the wounds they’ve survived and all the hardships they’ve faced, they can finally go home and see their families once more. None of course, is more excited about this than Lance. He hasn’t seen his family in person for what feels like decades but has only been a couple years. Lance has never forgot his family; after all these years he still fights to keep them safe. 

When he learned that Keith had no one to come home to, Lance insisted that he come with him and be apart of his family. Keith acts nonchalant but he’s happy that Lance would be willing to share his family with him.

Pidge uses the green lions stealth mode to drop the two off on the beach in cuba where Lance's father built their family home. Barely saying goodbye to the others in his excitement, Lance rushes out and waits for Keith to join him. 

Shiro pulls him aside. “Keith, listen. Time in space could be different than it is here. Days could have passed since we’d been gone or…” He trailed off, not wanting to voice the possibility. Keith nods. “I understand.”

He joins Lance on the beach and together they walk down the beach, with Lance sharing funny moments of his family with Keith. How he and his brothers would always be competitive with each other but would always have each others backs in fights. Though him and sisters often fought, they would give each other makeovers and comfort them when they went through a bad break up. How he spoiled his only niece rotten and was undoubtedly her favorite uncle. How he would help his mother in the garden every Sunday and afterwards, they would make a picnic and the whole family would have a day at the beach together. It sounded amazing.

They arrive to the site of an old house. The wood was cracked, the paint was chipped and the roof looked ready to collapse in on itself. The house was in dire need of repair and looked like no one had lived in it for a very long time.

“Lance…” Keith began, not sure how to tell him the thoughts that were creeping into his mind, but Lance was already running up the hill.

“Mama! Papa!”

He burst through the door, not noticing how it was barely on its hinges. Lance enters and begins to search the house excitedly, thinking they’re all hiding to surprise him.

He arrives in the kitchen and notices the absence of food or dishes on the counters. There was always something cooking...Where were they?

Keith watches from behind him as Lances smile falls as he finally notices that the house doesn’t appear to be lived in. Keith tries to think about how to explain their absence to him, when he yells out, “Where are you guys?” The desperation and hopelessness in his voice causes Keith’s heart to break. 

In a desperate, almost frantic attempt to deny what has happened, Lance begins to run through the kitchen into the hallway, where Keith sees rows of opened doors. Cobwebs covered them and the floors were covered in dust. At the end of the hall, was a single door, light shining from under the crevices. Afraid of what he would find, Lance slowly approaches the door. Taking a shaky breath, he opens the door. 

Inside, an elderly lady lays in bed reading an old book. Surprise evident on her face, she gasps and meets his gaze and Lance remembers the day before he left for the Garrison.

( FLASHBACK) “Uncle Lance!” Turning, Lance saw his niece Hailey running towards him with tears streaming down her face. Worried something was wrong, Lance scooped her into his arms and hugged her tight, as she clutched just as tightly onto him. 

“What’s wrong, Jumper?” His special nickname for her, as she was always jumping up and down with uncontained energy.

“I-I don’t w-want you to l-l-leave me!” she choked out, sobbing into his neck.

“Hey..Hey now, there’s no need for tears. I’m just gonna be gone for a little bit so I can go into space. I’ll be back in no time.”

“P-pwomise?” He smiled into her hair. “Pinky promise.” She pulled back and gave him a big smile. He wiped away the tears from her beautifully unique eyes; one a bright amber that seemed to glow and a crystal blue that were very similar to his own. 

The same pair of eyes that he was looking at now. (END OF FLASHBACK)

“Jumper?” He asked, his voice not masking his shock and heartbreak.

The very old woman smiled at the name she had not heard in a very long time. “Hi, Uncle Lance.”

Tears rushing down his face, Lance hurried over to her and the two clutched each other tightly, as though their lives were anchored to their grips on each other. Keith supposed in a way, they did.

Lance pulled away and sat in the chair beside the bed, holding her hand with both of his own. He studied her face and she studied his.

“I always knew you would come back to us. We all knew you weren’t dead like they told us you were.”

He gave a small smile. “I was in space, Jumper. Saving the universe in a giant robotic lion.”

She laughed but Keith thought it sounded strained.

“I knew you wouldn’t break your promise if it wasn’t important.”

He choked on a sob. “I wanted to come home, I really did. But I couldn’t-”

She reached a shaky hand up to his face and fondly caressed it. “It’s okay, Uncle. I know you must have missed us as much as we missed you.”

He froze on her words. “Where are the others…? Surely they aren’t all…” Lance trailed off, seeing how aged her face truly was. She had been only six when he left for the Garrison, and now she looked at least ninety. Surely not that many years had passed...right?

She looked at him, eyes not hiding her own grief. 

“They wanted to be here when you came home. They’re on the hill.”

Lance rushed out of the room and Keith followed him, sensing his distress. 

By the time Keith came out of the back of the house, Lance had already ran his way up the hill and was disappearing over the top of it. Keith ran as fast as he could, trying to keep up with him. He made it to the top finally and saw a rusted fence with an old rusted gate broke down. Keith made out Lances figure standing unnaturally still, staring at the ground. He entered through the fence and saw what they were standing in; a cemetery. 

Cautiously, he made his way to Lance who was staring at a stone headstone, covered in weeds. Seeing a patch in the center of the stone cleared, Keith peered down at the faded but still eligible name.

 

Mari’ah McClain  
1972-2058  
Beloved Wife and Mother

Keith grasped what the name was to Lance. This was his mother, dead for what appeared to have been a long time. Glancing around, Keith saw newer stones that didn’t need to be cleared to be read. He recognized the names from all the stories Lance had told him over the war. Judging from the dates, Lance's father had passed not long after they had discovered Blue. Years later, his aunts and uncles had slipped away one by one until there was none left, and still years before Lance’s mother. 

Keith read over the others; Lances siblings had been buried in chronological order, ranging from oldest to youngest. Keith noticed that one or two of them had died rather young, with only thirty or so odd years lived. Others had lived passed seventy and according to the stones, had given Lance more nieces and nephews than just Hailey. What bothered Keith was that Redalton, who had been Lances youngest sibling by seven years, had died well into his eightieth year. There were names that Keith didn’t recognize but he figured these were the nieces and nephews that had been born after they had launched into space. He winced at the number of people that Lance would have loved, but would never get to know.

Looking at him now, Keith saw the paleness of his face and the blank look spread across his features. “Lance?” He asked, extremely concerned. As though hearing his name triggered something in him, Lances knees collapsed to the ground and was wracked with gut wrenching sobs. 

Keith crouched down to him, and gently pulled him into his arms, fully expecting Lance to lash out at him and to tell him to get lost. To his surprise, Lance turned into his embrace and buried himself in Keith's jacket while he poured his grief out onto Keith.

“They’re all gone...Keith, they’re all gone.” Lance's chest began to constrict and he found it very hard to breathe. His vision started to black around the edges and he could feel his head getting lighter to the point he thought he was going to black out. But still he sobbed. The tears wouldn’t stop and he couldn’t make himself calm down. All he could think about was his family. How he would never get to braid his sister's hair for them, or root for his brothers as they played their chosen sports. He would never hear his father's strong voice give him advice or never see his mother again...God, he’d never get another one of her hugs…

Keith gently slapped his face, bringing him back to reality. This painful, painful reality. “Come on, Lance. You need to calm down, okay? Breathe...okay? Just focus on me. I’m here and I’m not gonna leave you.”

Keith could tell that his words did little to comfort Lance but it calmed him down enough for him to breath.

Though he was already in his arms, Keith felt that Lance needed more. Bringing him completely into his arms, Keith cradled Lance's body against his. The next several hours were spent listening to Lance's stories about his family, the good and the bad times, and rocking him as he sobbed.

______________________________________________________________________

Later That Night

They sat together on Lances old bed, talking. 

“Do you think they hated me when I left?”

Keith recoiled as though Lance had slapped him.

“What kind of question is that? There is no way they would ever have hated you! They missed you without a shadow of doubt, but they never once stopped loving you.”

Lance stared at his hands. “How do you know?”

Keith took a deep breath before answering. “Because it’s impossible to not love you, Lance. You’re brave, smart, funny...You’re amazing.”

Lance's eyes turned to Keith's, searching. He smiled and brought his lips onto Keiths. 

“Will you stay in here with me? I don’t think that I can sleep in here alone..”. Keith nodded. 

They laid on the bed and Keith wrapped his arms around Lance, making him aware that there was someone with him through this and that he wasn’t going to leave him. Even when Lance woke up a sobbing mess, yelling at him to leave and not to see him like this, Keith hugged Lance tightly and stroked his hair.

“I got you, Lance. I got you.”

_______________________________________________________________________  
The next several weeks passed in a blur. Keith would sit with Hailey and Lance, while they talked about all Lance had missed while he had been gone. Graduations, wedding and births; Lance had been ecstatic when he found out Hailey herself had six kids and nineteen grandkids herself. Lance had laughed when he saw Keith's disbelief.

“We’ve always had big families.”

In return, they both explained to Hailey the details of the war, the unique cultures they had experienced, and the new people they had befriended. Hailey had listened intently and Keith was amazed to find that she understood most of what they were saying without them really having to explain it. She joked and laughed with them, and even asked intricate questions. She was as smart as her uncle, even if her English wasn’t entirely where it should have been. Over the days, Keith came to love Haileys sense of humor; the same flirty jokes he had heard Lance tell over the last few years. It wasn’t hard to see they were almost exact copies of each other. 

At nights, Keith would sleep with Lance and would spend almost every minute of the day with him. When Hailey would sleep, Lance would show Keith around the beach giving him the tour of all his favorite places. Keith’s favorite was a giant rock beside the water where every night, they would sit together and just watch the sunset. It was peaceful. 

Keith was falling harder for Lance with each passing day. He couldn’t have been happier.

______________________________________________________________________

 

Some of Haileys grandkids lived in the area and they came into the house at least once a day to deliver food for their grandmother and to keep her company. Hailey introduced Lance as one of her late husband's great nephews, and Keith as his boyfriend; (Lance laughed while Keith blushed). 

They had seemed to believe the lie but he saw suspicion in the husband of Nicole, one of Haileys granddaughters, and Keith wasn’t surprised. Lance, Hailey, and Nicole all seemed to share very similar traits, that spoke of their relationship. Despite Lance always saying that he needed beauty treatments for his skin, him and Nicole's faces were void of acne or freckles. If you took away Hailey’s wrinkles, Keith suspected that hers would be the same. Another factor was they all shared the same strikingly blue eyes. The vibrancy alone was rarely seen, never mind the shade of blue itself. Keith suspected it was a genetic trait that everyone in Lance's family shared. Another thing they both noticed was the thick spanish accents that seemed to only appear with certain words; the same words between them all. 

Jeremey, the husband, never voiced his thoughts out loud and Keith was glad to see him leave.

Keith saw that Lance was struggling to be strong for Hailie's sake but at the mention of his parents or siblings, Keith didn’t fail to notice the shadow that passed over his eyes and the tightness of his smile. Keith also knew that Lance hated to see that his great-great grandkids were older than he was by almost three decades. Every day when Hailey would nap, he and Lance would travel back up the hill together and pay their respects. Keith would support Lance as he talked to his family. 

To make matters worse, as the days passed Hailey’s health declined. Her breathing seemed to grow more laboured. She began to sleep longer through the day and found it increasingly difficult to concentrate on their stories. Keith knew she was dying and he hated the irony that almost as soon as Lance found his last remaining family member, he would lose her. Keith knew that it wouldn’t be long before she passed and he didn’t know how Lance would handle it. What he did know was that he wasn’t going to leave Lances side when it happened. 

_______________________________________________________________________

“No! I’m not leaving!”

Keith winced at the desperation in Lance's voice and the callousness of Shiro's words. 

“Lance, I understand that she’s your family but we won’t be gone for long. You’re a paladin! We defend the universe and everyone in it, it’s what we do.”

“Screw the universe! If you want to protect it so badly, then you go! But I am NOT going to leave!”

Keith watched the continuing fight between his leader and his best friend, and wanted to interject but choose to stay out of it. He understood Lance not wanting to leave Haileys side, as in the last two months she had gotten so bad that everyone else had already came and said their goodbyes. Even she seemed to realise that her time was almost up and had been trying to make the most of it. Lance had been in denial, refusing to even consider that she was going to pass on. Seeing his objection to leaving told Keith he understood what was happening more than he was letting show. 

But, though he hated himself for it, Keith also agreed with Shiro. The lives of the universe outweighed the one. Even knowing this, Keith wanted to stay with Hailey almost as much as Lance did. 

Shiro looked angry and opened his mouth to argue further, when Hailey called from her room. Lance rushed to her with Keith right behind him. Shiro leaned on the doorframe, watching.

She smiled at them when they entered and held out a hand for him to take. 

Lance took it and crouched beside her bed. 

“What’s up, jumper?”

“You know you need to go with them. You’re a hero, Uncle Lance. And heros don’t stop fighting to do what’s right, no matter the circumstances.”

Tears began to pool in his eyes. “But I can’t just leave you…”

“We both know it’s almost my time, Uncle. And I’m ready to go. I vowed to wait for you to come home before I left. I got to spend time with you and the person you love, far longer than I thought I would.”

Keith smiled. Of coarse Hailey knew, even if they hadn’t discussed it themselves. He reached across the bed to take Lance's hand into his own. He squeezed it, attempting to offer support.

The tears were now streaming down Lances cheeks freely. 

“Okay, Jumper. I’ll go, just for you.” He began stroking her hair back from her forehead. 

“I am so proud of you. You grew up to become a beautiful, intelligent person, like I always knew you would. You’re so much braver than anyone else I’ve ever known and no one could have ever been more proud of you. Even though I had to miss your life, I am grateful baby girl. Because I got to see the strong woman you are, if only for a short time.” He laid his forehead on hers and closed his eyes, savoring what they both knew to be their last moments together. Lance gently kissed her forehead. 

“I love you, Jumper. So much.”

“And I love you, Uncle Lance. I can’t wait to tell everyone all that you’ve done. They’ll be just as proud of you as I am.” She turned to Keith. “Take care of each other. Please.” He nodded and she wiped away her own tears, laughing. 

“Now, get out. All of you. It’s time for my nap.” 

They all shuffled out of the room, with Lance taking one last glance at her. “See ya later, Jumper.” She waved gently at him. Then they walked out of the house, and towards the car Shiro had brought. The others were waiting inside.

That was the last time Lance ever talked to Hailey.

_______________________________________________________________________

2 Years Later

“Do you think she’s happy?” Asked Lance to his husband, staring at the tombstone in front of him, that was already beginning to be chipped and eroded.

Keith smiled. “Of course she is. She gets to terrorize everyone again.” Lance laughed. 

“Yeah. I taught her well.” 

Keith and Lance sat next to the grave, close together. Lance smiled and turned back to the stone.

“So Hailey, we introduced Coran to popcorn the other day, and his reaction was the funniest thing ever-.”

Here Lies Hailey McClain  
Beloved Wife, Mother, Grandmother

The End.

**Author's Note:**

> Aaaaaand that's all she wrote, guys. Hope you enjoyed. Tell me what you thought in the comments. Peace out, bros!!!


End file.
